FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 29, l987


          FTC COMMISSIONER STRENIO URGES AUTO INDUSTRY
              TO CUT PRICES TO GAIN EDGE ON RIVALS


     American car manufacturers must cut prices if they want to
become more competitive with foreign producers, Federal Trade
Commissioner Andrew J. Strenio, Jr. said Friday.
     Commissioner Strenio, speaking in Chicago at the Conference
on the Future of the Automobile Franchise System, said price
reductions are the best way for the industry to regain market
share, restore domestic employment and "revive the reputation of
American car manufacturers as decisive price leaders, not docile
price takers."
     By slashing prices now, Commissioner Strenio said, the
industry would "intensify the competitive squeeze already placed
upon foreign producers by virtue of the changes in the exchange
rate over the last year."
     Acknowledging that price cutting "would not be painless,"
Commissioner Strenio said the move nonetheless "would deliver the
message to American consumers that we really want your business,
while informing foreign competitors that we mean business."
     Commissioner Strenio said the American automobile industry
in general must become more efficient and more aggressive to
recapture lost segments of the American market and to do better
in foreign markets.  He said that the industry seems more
receptive today to innovation, whether in manufacturing or in
distribution.
     Commissioner Strenio also noted other recent FTC actions
involving the automobile industry, including enforcement of the
used car rule.
     The FTC Tuesday filed a complaint charging a Maryland car
dealership with violating the used car rule, Commissioner Strenio
said.  The rule requires dealers to display window stickers on
vehicles offered for sale, telling buyers if the vehicle is being
sold with a warranty and the warranty's terms.
     The FTC is investigating several other cases, said
Commissioner Strenio, adding that "you can definitely expect more
enforcement actions as long as our investigations indicate non-
compliance with that rule."
     Copies of Commissioner Strenio's speech are available from
the Public Reference Branch, Room l30, 6th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222;
TTY 202-326-2502.

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MEDIA CONTACT:  Jim Pinkelman, Office of Public Affairs,
                202-326-2l78

(StrenAuto)